I am a huge Shinichiro Watanabe fan. I thought Cowboy Bebop was brilliant (and am very frustrated by it's continuing unavailability on iTunes), and Samurai Champloo nearly as good-- although I am more kindly disposed to SF than Samurai entertainment, so that partially colors my opinions. Heck, his Animatrix shorts were the best of the lot in my opinion. But this?
Meh.
It's not the animation itself, which is up to the same high standards of those other two series. It's certainly not the music, which is by the wonderful Yoko Kanno, who did the music for both Champloo and Bebop as well. So what is it?
Partially the storyline, I suspect; I am probably at this point in my life too old for teenage bildungsroman stories, particularly those set in the recent past of a country I've never visited. Partly it's the characters, none of whom I am able to find myself caring about (particularly the whiny lead character). And partly it's "the girl" of the romantic love triangle, the pigtailed schoolgirl looks of whom just annoys me on a level way too deep to analyze. This is the direction Watanabe has gone since the gun-toting Faye Valentine of "Cowboy Bebop"? Seriously? Oy.
So you put it all together and you end up with what is, for me, "Meh". Two episodes, and I just gave up. My 17 year-old, anime- and manga-loving daughter might like it, but if you're a fan of Bebop or Champloo, well, I'm just not so sure. And it bums me that, judging by his previous output, we're going to have to wait until 2018 or so before we see another new series by Watanabe. Sigh.
Your mileage may vary, obviously.
Meh.
It's not the animation itself, which is up to the same high standards of those other two series. It's certainly not the music, which is by the wonderful Yoko Kanno, who did the music for both Champloo and Bebop as well. So what is it?
Partially the storyline, I suspect; I am probably at this point in my life too old for teenage bildungsroman stories, particularly those set in the recent past of a country I've never visited. Partly it's the characters, none of whom I am able to find myself caring about (particularly the whiny lead character). And partly it's "the girl" of the romantic love triangle, the pigtailed schoolgirl looks of whom just annoys me on a level way too deep to analyze. This is the direction Watanabe has gone since the gun-toting Faye Valentine of "Cowboy Bebop"? Seriously? Oy.
So you put it all together and you end up with what is, for me, "Meh". Two episodes, and I just gave up. My 17 year-old, anime- and manga-loving daughter might like it, but if you're a fan of Bebop or Champloo, well, I'm just not so sure. And it bums me that, judging by his previous output, we're going to have to wait until 2018 or so before we see another new series by Watanabe. Sigh.
Your mileage may vary, obviously.